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Sunday, December 1, 2013

Imperial Yarn :: Review & Giveaway!!

Back in September I had listed "rustic yarns" as one of my Obsessions for that month. And by rustic I had simply meant yarns that weren't superwash, that weren't overly processed and stripped of the fibre's natural properties and beauty, and that weren't blended with other fibres like nylon, cashmere, or both so that it can be marketed as a "luxury yarn" (although I did discover that the term "luxury yarn" means different things to different knitters depending on where you live!). I was on a hunt for yarns that met this criteria and for patterns that would mesh well with them. I was on the look-out for comfy pullovers, cozy cardigans, squishy cowls or scarves, and most importantly - warm mitts. But then life got busy and I had to put these knitterly plans on the back burner.

During that time though, the über nice people at Imperial Stock Ranch sent me a few beautiful skeins of Imperial Yarn Erin to play with and to knit up a gorgeous pair of lace cuffs! I was seriously dying to get this yarn on my needles, as I've never knit with any of Imperial Yarn's yarns. It's only now that I've been able to wind up a skein and do some swatching!

First off, for those of you who don't know anything about Imperial Stock Ranch or their yarns, they are a family owned and operated, American ranch and company based out of Shaniko, Oregon. The company highly values sustainability and are deeply proud of being a 100% USA-made wool product. The yarn that I was lucky enough to receive isErin, which is a worsted weight 3-ply of 100% wool. When I first pulled the yarn out of the box I was immediately impressed with how light, lofty, and oh-so-squishy the skeins were. The yarn itself is beautifully round and balanced, and running a strand through my fingers the yarn is wonderfully soft and smooth.

I wound up a skein in the Honeydew colourway, and let me tell you, that light melon-y green shade is not easy to photograph! I tried in so many different lights and backgrounds, using both my smartphone and my expensive camera and I still had such a hard time capturing the colour!

The tag suggests using a 4.5mm (US 7) needle but I ended up using a 5mm (US 8) solely because I couldn't find a single 4.5mm needle anywhere! Which is weird, because if you know me, you'd know I have several sets of needles. So you know you've got way too many projects on the go when... Anyhoo, I knit up a simple stockinette swatch over 40 stitches for a few inches before deciding to throw in a few mock cables, a simple cable, and a lace leaf motif into the mix.

So impossibly hard to capture the colour! Honeydew is actually more minty than this photo depicts!

The stockinette portion was cushy and warm, and I have to admit I really liked the fabric that I was getting. You can just tell that this yarn would make great every-day-wearable sweaters. The yarn gives great stitch definition and was "sticky" enough to knit up the cables without the need of a cable needle. The yarn was quite a pleasure and so easy to knit with that I actually had made a pretty large swatch. So what do you do when you've got a fairly big piece of knitted fabric? You drape it around your neck of course! I wore the swatch around the house for a good hour or so, tucked into the front neckline of my shirt. I wanted to see if the yarn could be worn next to the skin or if I'll need a layering garment to avoid scratching myself silly by the end of the day. I was pleasantly surprised to find that after an hour I had completely forgotten that I even had the swatch tucked into my shirt! I was reminded later that day when I went to a coffee shop and the barista gave me a weird look and asked me if it was really that cold out that I needed to wear a dickey. Hm. Don't judge.

Let's get back to the yarn.

It was such a joy to knit with Erin that I was pretty excited to cast on for a pair of Juliet Cuffs designed by Anna Cohen for Imperial Yarn. Sadly, the day I cast on the first cuff I was already having issues with my knitting mojo and every knitting project I touched that day just didn't want to work out. After a few false starts I finally have the first cuff under way. I'm really hoping to get them done within the next few days as it's looking like it's going to get even colder around these parts, weather wise. I also better start looking for buttons since my MO seems to be that I don't finish projects that involves buttons simply because I just can't get my hands on the perfect button. And I may be a stitch lazy at sewing them on. But we won't get into that.

Oh, hey! How about we talk about a giveaway though? Aside from the skeins that I was able to play with, the lovely peeps at Imperial Yarn also gave me a skein of Erin and a hardcopy of the Juliet Cuffs pattern to give away to one lucky reader! So now you can play with this delightful yarn too and maybe we can be twinsies in our cuffs! Who's up for that? I promise I won't show up at the same events as you wearing my cuffs, if that makes you feel any better (sorry, sometimes I get a little sassy when I've had too much coffee). If you're interested in snagging this lovely little package, keep on reading!!

:: THE GIVEAWAY ::

** Giveaway is now closed! **

** Thank you to all who have entered! **

:: THE PRIZE ::

♥ One lucky reader will receive a skein of Imperial Yarn Erin in the Quail colourway AND a hardcopy of the Juliet Cuffs pattern

:: Disclaimer :: I am not affiliated with the company mentioned in this post, nor do I endorse them and vice versa. I received no monetary compensation from said company for the review. The pattern and skeins of yarn were sent to me for review purposes but the opinions I've written are my own based on my own experiences with the products mentioned. I will not be receiving any commissions from this post.

I'm so excited to hear about Imperial Yarns! I've been getting more and more interested in the less processed, more "hard wearing" yarns that seem to be less popular in yarn stores and even among indie dyers, so I'm glad to hear about another one! (I'm knitting a sweater with Juniper Moon's lovely rugged Shepherd & Shearer yarn right now, actually). Love that light green melon colour, too! SarahVV on Ravelry :)

Rustic yarns are my favorite...the less processing, the better I like them! I haven't tried Imperial Yarns yet, but I'm going to in the very near future! They'll make wonderfully warm mittens for cold New England winters! I'm also more than happy to support an American company and wish them much success in the future!

I have been on a bit of a rustic/local yarn kick myself and from your fantastic review it looks like Imperial Yarns fits all of my criteria for stash enhancement...thank you for the enabling Melissa! ;-)trinalea.briggs@gmail.com

I have not used this yarn but I would love a chance to make some mitts with them. I knit some mitts last year with a super soft luxury type merino--they are soft and warm-but pilling and not so beautiful to look at anymore. Leaned my lesson on where to use soft yarns vs rustic.

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